AI-generated
Tuscan tomato and bread soup
Log in or create a free account to save recipes.
Source: https://recipheon.com/en/recipes/soups/tuscan-tomato-and-bread-soup
About this recipe
This thick Tuscan soup combines tomatoes and stale bread with olive oil and basil. The bread slowly breaks down in the tomatoes, creating a soft, moist texture of fine crumbs. Choose an unsalted wheat loaf with its crust and whole canned peeled tomatoes, including their juice. Heat the garlic gently and add the water gradually so that the bread absorbs it evenly. After cooking, the soup rests for an hour and thickens further; serve it lukewarm, with basil and olive oil added at the end. Allow about two hours for four servings, including the rest. The soup should stay soft and spoonable, with a distinct bread texture.
Ingredients
For the soup and finishing
800 g canned whole peeled tomatoes with their juice, weighed without draining
300 g stale unsalted wheat bread, crust on, without mold
500 ml water, added in stages
50 ml extra-virgin olive oil: 30 ml for cooking and 20 ml for serving
2 raw garlic cloves, peeled, about 6 g
12 g fresh basil leaves: 8 g for the soup and 4 g for serving
4 g fine salt
0.2 g dried chili flakes, a small pinch
Steps
Use stale bread without mold and cut it, including the crust, into cubes about 2 cm across. Put the tomatoes with all their juice in a bowl and crush them with a fork into uneven pieces. Finely chop the garlic. Rinse and dry the basil; set aside 4 g for serving and keep the remaining 8 g for the soup.
Heat 30 ml olive oil over low heat in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot, add the garlic and chili, and heat for 1–2 minutes until fragrant; do not brown the garlic. Add the crushed tomatoes with their juice and all the salt. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 10–15 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes soften and begin to form a thick sauce. Meanwhile, heat 500 ml water for the next step.
AI-generated Pour 300 ml hot water into the tomatoes and add all the cubed bread. Stir, pressing the cubes with a spoon so that they absorb liquid evenly. Gradually add the remaining 200 ml hot water over 2–3 minutes, stirring after each addition. The bread should soften on the outside and become coated in tomato, but its pieces will still be visible at this stage.
AI-generated Cook over low heat with the lid ajar for 20–25 minutes, stirring along the bottom often so that the thickening soup does not scorch. Mash the softening bread against the sides of the pot with a spoon until the crust also softens. The soup should be thick and moist, with a fine texture from the broken-down bread, without firm cubes or water separating out. Stop cooking when the track left by drawing a spoon through the soup slowly fills in; do not blend the soup.
AI-generated Remove the pot from the heat. Tear 8 g basil into smaller pieces and stir them into the hot soup. Reserve the remaining leaves and 20 ml olive oil for finishing the servings.
Cover the pot and set it aside away from the burner for about an hour so that the flavors combine and the soup cools. During this time, the bread continues to absorb liquid and the soup becomes firmer. This is a resting stage, without further cooking.
Stir the tomato and bread soup and divide it among four deep soup plates. Drizzle the remaining 20 ml olive oil over the servings and add the reserved 4 g basil. Serve lukewarm, while it is still soft and easy to scoop with a spoon.
Estimated nutrition
Rate this recipe
0 ratings
Comments